Undocumented Status and Educational Outcomes Among Latino Students

The relationship between undocumented immigrant status (immigrants residing in the United States without legal authorization) and educational outcomes, particularly perceived academic performance and future aspirations, among Latino high school students is investigated in this document.

The document was submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of American University by Patricia C. Herdoiza in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts In Psychology.

To my Family, Colleagues, and Friends... Seeing the Faces of the Children

When others think of the passing of the new strict Alabama Immigration Laws they may envision an illegal sneaking over a fence, but this is not what I see. I see the faces of sweet innocent Hispanic-American children flashing through my mind and faces of their hard-working, faith-filled Latino families.

A New Immigration Consensus

Michael Bloomberg wrote this comprehensive article on May 2nd, describing his reasons for launching a bipartisan coalition of business leaders and mayors to make the case that visa reform is an economic imperative. Please follow the link below for an understanding of the issue from a financial well-being point of view:

The Power of Learning -- Unparalleled Gifts from Immigrants.

Andrew Carneige, an immigrant from Scotland and highly successful entrepreneur in the steel industry in the late 1800's, bequeathed a colossal resource that has had an incalculable impact on learning for almost 150 years. Carnegie donated most of his money to establish many libraries, schools, and universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries.

Today, another American, a son of immigrants, Salman Khan (his father is from Bangladesh and his mother was born in India), is on the verge of making a similar contribution to learning around the world -- a gift of staggering potential! In 2006, he created The Khan Academy as a not-for-profit educational organization which has a stated mission of "providing a high quality education to anyone, anywhere."

The website, khanacademy.org, supplies a free online collection of over 2,310 micro lectures via video tutorials stored on YouTube teaching mathematics, history, finance, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and economics. The tutorials have been translated into various languages. Mr. Khan has refused to monetize the academy. Like Carnegie, he is solely interested in being a benefactor to learning. As proof of the power of his creation and his labor of love, the website has already received over 50 million visits! Below are some of the awards and recognition Mr. Khan has already received:

He has been featured in San Francisco Chronicle, on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), National Public Radio, CNN and CNN Money. In 2009, the Khan Academy received the Microsoft Tech Award for education.

In 2010 at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Bill Gates endorsed the learning resource, calling it "unbelievable" and saying "I've been using [Khan Academy] with my kids. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $2.5 million to support the work of the academy.

In 2010, Google's Project 10100 provided $2 million to support the creation of more courses, to allow for translation of the Khan Academy's content, and to allow for the hiring of additional staff.

Las Patronas: Women at Work

The original meaning of the word compassion, as explained by Karen Armstrong, a best-selling author on world religions, is to put oneself in the place of others, to feel what others are feeling. This becomes the spark and substance of action.

What better way to depict true compassion than the subjects of the video below -- a group of humble women from a Mexican village, in the state of Veracruz. Freight trains race through their village, carrying desperate men and women who risk their lives travelling thousands of miles as they seek a new existence to the north, at best a life of arduous work. Seeing their desperate need for food and water, the women prepare 200 meals a day as they have done for 15 years. Like the Good Samaritan, they do so out of personal resources, which are often meager. And they risk their own lives tossing out meals and water into the outstretched hands of the voyagers who are hanging from the fast-moving trains.

If at times, with our abundance, we sense a lack of compassion toward others in desperate need, seeing such individual acts of generosity and charity may well be inspiring. In tribute to the exceptional uplifting gift of these women, we offer this link: